Reality Check: The Bubble I’ve Busted a Thousand Times The classic newbie inventor has a good idea, falls in love with it, and wants to sell it to a big company. That NEVER happens, almost. Here’s what I counsel clients a dozen times a year: your odds of success increase vastly the farther along you are with your invention, your patent, your product, and your [...]
As a few years have passed since Congress threw a little bone to start-up inventors, we’ve learned a few things. The good news is that you might qualify for reduced patent fees under the patent laws, thanks to a “gift” from Congress to small inventors. I didn’t follow the battle, but I expect it was a way for them to look like they are being generous in some small [...]
A typical marketing consultant would tell me I’m crazy to reveal the secrets in this month’s newsletter, but I have to be honest with my readers: Y’all worry too much*. *Yes, you might have detected a change in my language since our relocation to Texas now more than 10 years ago. DFW is now our home port. The classic marketers say that the two greatest [...]
Unpatented but Legally Potent (Photo Courtesy of Randall Rausch) It all started when I was on Facebook, innocently minding my own business. OK, as usual I was actually minding everyone else’s business on Facebook. Sometimes, when Karmen hears me typing furiously in the next room she calls out: “Honey, is someone wrong on the Internet again?” I have a zillion [...]
The Surprises and Secrets of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) Photo Credit: Oleg Volk In the patent world, one of the most important, yet surprisingly overrated, issues is secrecy. Yet while it’s a needless fear for many, it can make sense to protect yourself when you have to trust someone else with your secrets. An NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) is also known as a [...]
As we approach the SHOT Show, it’s important to get your legal ducks in a row, to be sure you aren’t losing valuable rights, or weakening the rights you already have. Time is short so action may be urgent, but the action needed may be simpler, faster, and cheaper than you think. Pre-SHOT Patent Advice Preserve your patent rights. The best NDA is a pending patent [...]
